Chapter 11
After spending a day in the village, we prepared to leave.
“Come visit us again sometime.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Haha.”
Leaving the elder who came to see us off, the wagon wheels began to roll.
Sitting in the front seat of the coachman’s box, Deruna stretched her arms.
“Hmm, it’s so boring.”
“That’s actually a good thing while we’re on a trading journey.”
“Is it? I’m curious how much your skills have improved.”
“Eek, absolutely not!”
“Fufu, would you say the same if I suddenly attacked?”
No way she’d actually attack out of nowhere, right?
“I’m an employer! Are you saying a mercenary would attack the merchant paying them?”
“You’re a special case. Besides, 500 gold for hiring a mercenary like me isn’t exactly a small sum. Though, of course, if rumors spread that I attacked my employer, that wouldn’t be good.”
“Exactly. If those rumors got out, no one would hire you again.”
“It doesn’t matter much to me. I’m a hereditary noble.”
Oh, right.
Is it really wise to entrust an estate to this wild young lady?
Her family originally planned to strengthen her prospects for a strategic marriage by giving her a solid background, but it didn’t go as intended.
In the end, they just let go of the reins of a noblewoman who didn’t fit the title.
A short sword suddenly came flying at me.
Why am I the one suffering instead of Karon?
Help!
“The wagon’s expensive!”
“Fufufu, can’t even take a little joke. Even Elenien, who coddles you so much, isn’t saying anything.”
When I looked at Elenien, she subtly avoided my gaze.
She’s just scared of you too, you bully!
“Please, just until this journey ends. Besides, I’m heading to my hometown during this trip!”
“Hmm, so you’re promising to spar with me once this journey is over?”
I averted Deruna’s gaze. A promise like that…
I’ll do my best to avoid her.
“Sigh, a man this unreliable. How can you even call yourself Karon’s disciple?”
“Shouldn’t we keep that a secret?”
“A secret society or not, eventually Karon’s sharpness will pierce through any attempt to conceal it. Do you really think he’s weaker than those people in the group?”
“That’s true.”
Deruna smirked mischievously.
“That’s also why I told you to call me ‘big sister.’ You’re essentially my junior. Even though Karon was insufferable from a young age, he was undeniably a genius. I considered him my mentor.”
“Well, I don’t know much, but there’s probably no one stronger than Karon.”
“For you to say that means you’re not ordinary either. You’ve got potential.”
Trying to appease her with a harmless comment had the opposite effect. Deruna now looked at me like she’d spotted a delicious meal, sending chills down my spine.
I turned my gaze away from her and found Elenien leaning closer.
There were no other wagons available since all the others were cargo wagons…
“Hmph, you really are fun to tease.”
“Please stop…”
“What should I try next?”
“D-Deruna, p-please don’t hurt Serupe…”
“Maybe I’ll tease the cuter Elenien instead?”
“Eek!”
Deruna reached out and tickled Elenien, who flailed like a fish out of water.
Though I felt bad, I couldn’t step in to help, so I watched with a heavy heart until a voice called out from the coachman’s box.
“Deruna, ma’am.”
“What is it, Caras?”
“They’ve unleashed their dogs. The wagons are being targeted.”
Something about the atmosphere turned ominous.
Is this going to be okay?
“Can you push on?”
“I’m doing my best, but we’re still quite far from the next village.”
“I heard bandits have been rampant lately. No wonder things have felt off. Serupe, protect Elenien.”
“Yes!”
As soon as I responded, something flew into the wagon.
An arrow.
Deruna caught the arrow mid-air, grabbed a bow, and acrobatically leapt out of the window.
The sound of thudding footsteps on the roof indicated she’d climbed up.
Soon after—
——“Aaargh!”
——“Gaaah!”
Faint screams echoed as Deruna’s arrows hit the bandits pursuing us.
I focused my attention on Elenien, worried that an arrow might fly her way.
Keeping her head down, she whispered softly, and spirits began moving busily in every direction.
——“No one told me there’d be so many spirits!”
——“What kind of nonsense is this?”
——“S-Spare me!”
Deruna peeked her head through the window and called out.
“Eleni, can you use the spirits to surround and capture the bandits? We’ll interrogate them. Once they’re all caught, signal the mercenaries with the spirits.”
“Yes…”
Well, that was anticlimactic.
Why did they even target our wagon…?
Recalling Deruna’s interrogation scenes from the novel, I almost felt sorry for the bandits.
***
The wagon was positioned as cover while the mercenaries stood guard around us.
“They’re about to start the interrogation. Please come with me, Employer.”
“Understood.”
I followed along with Elenien trailing behind. As we approached Deruna, we saw the bandits crying and pleading pitifully, clearly having endured severe treatment.
“We’ll tell you everything! Please, just stop!”
“Oh? Then start talking. Try anything funny or make me bored, and we’ll start over. Understand?”
The bandits trembled as if their lives depended on it.
“We swear, we’ll answer everything! Please, keep us entertained!”
“Alright then. Why did you attack our wagon?”
“We wanted the goods you were carrying! Agh!”
“If it was just the goods, you should have fled once your arrows started failing. Care to elaborate?”
The bandits, trembling with daggers lodged in their thighs, spoke.
“We were ordered to capture the people inside the wagon…”
“Oh, really? By whom? For whom?”
“We don’t know any more than that! Truly! We were only following orders from the boss.”
“Serupe, go over there and stay with Elenien for now.”
“I swear, we don’t know! The boss only told us that it didn’t matter about the other goods or money in the wagon, but the people inside had to be captured alive. That’s all!”
They desperately clung to Deruna, knowing that as soon as Elenien and I left, the horrific torture would begin again. Knowing Deruna’s nature, I could only shake my head.
These people… they would die anyway. To her, leaving an evildoer alive was a sin.
While I spared myself the sight of the torture out of consideration for Deruna, I couldn’t avoid watching the execution. In this world, surviving meant becoming desensitized to killing. It was impossible to live purely when there were always those who would try to kill you.
The bandits seemed to understand this as well, pleading.
“P-please, if you have no more questions, end it with a single strike.”
“I-I don’t want to die…”
After a brief moment of contemplation, Deruna spoke.
“What should we do, Serupe? They said they were targeting someone inside the wagon.”
A bitter taste filled my mouth as a certain scenario from the original story came to mind.
“Most likely, it’s neither me, you, nor the mercenaries.”
Deruna nodded and shouted toward the mercenaries to confirm my suspicion.
“Hey, any of you have someone holding a major grudge against you recently?”
“If we did, would we even be veterans? If there was any chance of a grudge, we’d have settled it on the spot.”
“Caras would already be dead if he had enemies~”
“What did you just say, you brat?”
“Ahahaha, if you’re hearing that now, you’re already behind.”
“Veterans, huh? Always claiming that, but quick to gang up when convenient.”
“Anyway, Lady Deruna, we’ve never fought under our real names.”
Deruna shrugged her shoulders.
“So, the mercenaries are clear. Serupe, are you sure there’s nothing you’ve done to make yourself a target?”
“I’ve only just started selling fertilizer. It could be me they’re after, but if not, then it must be either me or Elenien.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing my words, Elenien seemed to fall into deep thought. Sighing, I gently placed my hand on her shoulder.
“Elenien.”
“Yes, yes?”
“You might not realize it yourself, but you’re incredibly valuable. It’s not strange for humans to covet you. It might just be my conjecture, but I think you’re the one they’re after.”
“Y-you think so…?”
One of the bandits, who had sworn to answer honestly, interrupted and confirmed my words.
“Isn’t that likely? We have scouts stationed in villages. If one of them saw a Half-Elf like her and reported back to the boss, it could have been passed on to other bandit gangs in the area.”
“…Looks like the difficulty of this mission just went up.”
“I’m sorry, Lady Deruna.”
“You little…”
“Eek!”
Deruna put me in a headlock. While it wasn’t tight enough to choke me, it was still humiliating!
“How should I make you pay for this?”
“I-I’ll pay! How much do you want?”
“Just make sure to pay the mercenaries properly when this is over. I don’t need anything.”
Letting me go, Deruna let out a heavy sigh.
“Spill everything you know about your bandit gang.”
“Yes, yes! First, the location is…”
After extracting all the information, Deruna raised her sword.
“Wait, Lady Deruna.”
“What is it?”
“Let me do it. I can’t sit back and contribute nothing when we’re being attacked by bandits.”
“…Fine. I’ll be in the wagon.”
Deruna sheathed her sword and turned away. I drew my blade and stood before the bandit who had been most forthcoming.
Channeling mana into the blade, I closed my eyes and struck his neck. As blood sprayed, one of the remaining bandits began to convulse.
“Aah! Aahh! P-please, spare me. I was starving and had no choice but to join the gang…”
“In your next life, I hope you’re born into a world where you won’t go hungry.”
The last bandit muttered quietly.
“Lame excuse… says the guy who enjoyed it the most.”
Glancing briefly at the fallen corpse, the remaining bandit looked at me and then bowed his head. In that moment, I felt I could somewhat understand Deruna’s sentiment.
Turning, I looked at Elenien. She was curled up, her eyes trembling.
Our gazes met.
In that fleeting moment, time seemed to stretch into eternity.
As someone who had taken over this body, I thought of fulfilling the role Gronif once had for her.
“Elenien, I’m your friend. As your friend, I want to understand you, both as an Elf and as a human, and…”
But I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought. The words played out in my mind instead:
‘As someone who harmonizes with the life of the forest, as a being who treasures each moment, as someone who fiercely strives to surpass limitations, as a Half-Elf, you will one day realize that you cannot live solely for yourself. The weight of the world may press heavily upon your shoulders. It might be even more so because you’re a Half-Elf. But accepting the burdens placed upon you is part of becoming an adult. I’m sorry for making you grow up so quickly.’
I could recall the words her mother had once spoken to her when Elenien had to take a life. Why do I always remember things like that?
Even if I tried to rephrase it to fit this moment… Elenien spoke up while I hesitated.
“Say it, Serupe.”
Giving her an awkward smile, I decided to leave my words ambiguous. I wanted to preserve her innocence for just a little longer.
Elenien wasn’t supposed to experience this kind of event for a long time yet, but because of me, she had been thrust into it. It was my responsibility.
“As long as you’re with me, let me shoulder the human half of your burdens.”
“Okay, o-okay…”
Elenien slowly nodded, then repeated it several times. Feeling the weight of taking a life, I swung my sword once more, burdened by guilt.
It seemed like I wouldn’t be sleeping well for several nights.
—
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